National Indigenous Peoples Day
This June 21, 2021, we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of National Indigenous Peoples Day. The day is designated to honour and recognize the diverse cultures and outstanding achievements of all First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada.

National Indigenous People’s Days is the same day as the summer solstice (longest day of the year) and was chosen for its important symbolism to many Indigenous people. It has now evolved into a whole-month celebration, with various events being hosted all across Turtle Island. We celebrate every day as our communities have strong, vibrant and rich cultures that have survived genocide: we are resilient and have so much to be proud of.

This National Indigenous Peoples Day, we renew the call for all Canadians to learn our history, hear our stories and understand that this land has the heartbeat and blood of our ancestors. The point of amplifying this truth and mobilizing this knowledge is to come to a place of reconciliation and understanding, and not to surface feelings of guilt, anger or shame. We hope to inspire other communities, especially those of settler ancestry, to realize their shared responsibility; even though many did not have a direct hand in historic injustices, they inherit an infrastructure, thoughts and beliefs that are still harmful to Indigenous people.

We are open and encourage all Canadians to walk this journey with us in ally-ship, as we heal and move forward in a good way. Miskanawah acknowledges the traditional lands of the Blackfoot Confederacy, which includes the nations of Siksika, Kainai, Piikani and Amskapii-Piikani and Treaty #7, which recognizes the Tsuu’tina Nation, Stoney-Nakoda Nations of Chiniki, Bearspaw and Wesley, Métis Region #3 and all the nations that work, play and live in Calgary.

Lastly, below are some publicly available resources, that we hope will help guide our future allies:
Elder in the Making
https://youtu.be/MYglFfTG0TE
Colonization Road
https://youtu.be/u03qLJ50bf4
We Were Children
https://youtu.be/bjB_3dduOWs
The Orange Shirt Day Story
https://youtu.be/hBvA1cNo7o8
The Search: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women | Fault Lines
https://youtu.be/mdPv0NDfMbA